Fire-extinguisher.



No. 696,780. Patented Apr. l, I902.

M. E. WELLER. FIRE EXTHNGUI$HEFL (Application filed Jan. 10, 1901.)

(No Model.)

position of the parts when not in use.

NI'IED TATES ATENT ration.

MARVIN E. WVELLER, OF FORT PLAIN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- FIFTHS TO ALPIIONSO WALRATH, OF FORT PLAIN, NEW YORK.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,780, dated April 1, 1902.

Application filed January 10, 1901. $erial No. 42,790. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARVIN E. VVELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Plain, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fire-Extinguishers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to that class of fireextinguishers, known as chemical fire-extinguishers, in which a gas maybe generated at pleasure to charge the fluid contents and afford the necessary pressure for forcibly ejecting such contents. Heretofore in this class of extinguishers it has been found that the oil of vitriol or other acid which is suspended in the liquid-holding tank when exposed to the external atmosphere, which enters through the nozzle of the tank, has a makeage, or rather it gains in volume and overflows into the liquid in the tank and starts off the contents of the tank unnecessa rily and also causes other injurious and deteriorating effects upon the apparatus; and it is the object of my invention to overcome these difficulties.

The invention consists in a fire-extinguisher comprising a liquid-holding tank or receptacle combined with means for holding and confining an acid-bottle submerged within and below the surface of the liquidin said tank near the bottom thereof, and a weighted sealing device for said acid-bottle which I have herein designated a diving-bell aircheck sealing device, all as I will proceed now more particularly to set forth and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is an elevation showing the position of the parts when not in use, the tank being in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the Fig. 3 is an elevation of the apparatus inverted, the tank being in section, showing the position of the parts when in use. Fig. at is a perspective of the revolving member or door of the acid-bottle holder detached; and Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings, A is the liquid-holding tank, provided with the hose-attaching nozzle B and cap or cover 0, all of usual or ordinary construction.

In carrying out my invention I secure to the under side of the cap or cover 0, in any suitable manner and at substantially equal distances apart and diametrically opposite one another, a series of wires or rods act a a the said wires or rods a a a extending, preferably, the entire length of the tank to the bottom thereof and there secured in any suitable manner to a bottom or base piece 5, constructed as a disk provided with an outwardlyextending flange I) at its lower edge for a purpose presently appearing. The wire or rod a does not extend to the bottom piece I), but stops short thereof, (see Figs. 1, 2, and 8,) and said wires a, a, a and a just above the stopping-point of the wire a are connected together'or surrounded by a band 0, suitably secured to said wires. The parts thus constructed form a cage-like structure having a side opening adjacent the bottom piece I) for the entrance of the acid-bottle cl and upon which bottom piece I) the acid-bottle is supported. For the purpose of closing the opening in such cage-like structure I provide a revolving member or door constructed of two rings e e, of suitable material, connected together at a suitable distance apart by the wires ff, arranged substantially diametrically opposite one another, and the door thus constructed is arranged upon the cagelike structure, with its rings 6 c between the band a and the bottom I) and resting and adapted to be revolved upon the flange 6 of said bottom I). The wire f, it will be observed, is bent inwardly, so that when the door is in the closed position it will extend in line with and take the place of the cutaway wire a and thereby serve to center the acid-bottle and to hold it in place. The wires a, a, a and f are provided with stops g, extending over the shoulder of the acid-bottle for the purpose of preventing said bottle from dropping when the apparatus is inverted, and said stops also serve a further purpose, which will presently appear.

In Fig. 2 I have shown one manner of detachably securing the wires a, a, a and a to the cap or cover, and in this construction the wires are clenched or headed in a disk a of suitable material, which disk is secured in a recess in the under side of the cap or cover by means of a screw or other suitable fastening a although said wires may be secured to the cap or cover in any suitable manner.

Arranged within the cage-like structure and adapted to slide therein is the divingbell air-check sealing device, constructed as a weighted inverted cup-like device 7L, adapted to fit over the neck of the bottle, with its depending wall It overhanging the neck of the bottle. The said sealing device is provided in its recess with an acid-proof packing 1', preferably of asbestos, adapted to rest upon and engage the mouth of the bottle in a liquid-tight manner and is kept in such position by the weight of the diving-bell.

In setting up my apparatus I proceed as follows: The tank A being filled with a suitable liquid, the acid-bottle is filled with any suitable acid to combine with the liquid to form a gas and is placed within its holder by raising the weighted diving-bell air-check sealing device, which is supported upon the stops or pins g when the acid-bottle is not in place and passing it through the opening in the cage-like structure. The bottle being thus placed in the cage-like structure rests upon the bottom 1) thereof. The weighted diving-bell air-check sealing device is then released and falls down upon the neck of the bottle with its acid-proof packing tightly closing the mouth of said bottle. The revolving door having been turned to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.5 to permit the entrance of the acid-bottle is now turned to the full-line position in said Fig. 5 to se cure the bottle in place. The bottle and its sealing device having thus been arranged in the holder are inserted in the opening in the top of the tank and plunged into the liquid in said tank and the cap or cover screwed to place. It will be observed that the said bottle and its sealing device being thus inserted in the tank will be submerged in and below the surface of the liquid therein near the bottom of said tank, and, furthermore, by thus submerging the bottle and its sealing device in the liquid a small quantity of air will be confined in the recess of the weighted sealing device in the manner of a diving-bell (see Fig. 2) and will remain therein and surround the neck of the bottle at the point where the acid-proof packing rests upon the neck of the bottle, and thereby form an air check at said point to prevent the liquid in the tank from reaching said point of juncture between said acid-proof packing and the mouth of the bottle, and, furthermore, it will be observed that by this arrangement it is impossible for the external atmosphere to reach the contents of the acid-bottle. Hence I have herein designated my sealing device a diving-bell air-check sealing device, and wish to be understood as so claiming the device. It will also be observed that by thus submerging the said acid-bottle and its sealing device below the surface of the liquid in the tank the tank may be filled to its utmost capacity, an advantage which has not existed in prior apparatus of this class, wherein the acid-bottle and its sealing device are suspended near the top of the tank with the sealing device extending above the surface of the liquid. The apparatus being thus set up and it being desired to use the same, it is only necessary to invert the tank, as shown in Fig. 3, and the parts will assume the position shown in said figurethat is to say, the weighted sealing device 71. will descend to the position shown in said Fig. 3, being guided in its descent by the eage-like structure or wires a, a, (1 and a and will rest upon. the bottom of the cap or cover C. The sealing device having thus left its seat unseals the bottle, and the acid contained therein enters the liquid in the tank and starts off the apparatus. The acid-bottle d remains in its position at the bottom of the tank and is supported in such position by its shoulder resting upon the stops or pins 9, and by this construction it will be observed that the acid is more thoroughly mixed with the liquid before it reaches the discharge-nozzle of the tank. The revolving door is supported in place, when the apparatus is inverted, by the band 0, the ring 6 of said door resting upon said band, thereby preventing said door from sliding down the cage-like structure. After the apparatus has thus been used and emptied of its contents it may be recharged by simply carrying out the steps just above described in setting up the apparatus.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to the exact details of construction hereinshown and described, inasmuch as they may be changed in various particulars and still be within the scope of my invention.

What I claim is-- 1. In a fire-extinguisher, the combination with a liquid-holding tank and a removable cap or cover therefor, of a cage-like structure secured to said cap or cover and adapted to receive and support an acid-bottle, and a diving-bell air-check sealing device for said bottle arranged and adapted to slide within said cage-like structure, said acid-bottle and its sealing device being adapted to be submerged within and below the surface of the liquid in said tank, substantially as described.

2. In a fire-extinguisher, the combination with a liquid-holding tank and a removable cap or cover therefor, of a cage-like structure secured to said cap or cover and adapted to receive and support an acid-bottle, a side opening in said cage-like structure and a revoluble door therefor, and a diving-bell aircheck sealing device for said bottle arranged and adapted to slide within said cage-like structure, said acid-bottle and its sealing device being adapted to be submerged within cap or cover therefor, of a cage-like structure comprising a series of wires or rods secured to said cap or cover and extending within the tank near the bottom thereof and provided with a bottom, an acid-bottle arranged within said cage-like structure and adapted to be supported upon the bottom thereof, and a diving-bell air-check sealing device for said.

bottle arranged and adapted to slide within said cage-like structure, substantially as described.

4. In a fire-extinguisher, the combination with a liquid-holding tank and a removable cap or cover therefor, of a cage-like structure comprising a seriesof wires or rods secured to said cap or cover and extending within the tank near the bottom thereof and provided with'a bottom, a side opening in saidcagelike structure, a revolving door for said opening comprising two rings connected bywires and supported upon said cage-like structure, an acid-bottle arranged within said cage-like structure upon the bottom thereof, stops for confining said revolving door and acid-bottle in place, and a diving-bell air-check sealing device for said bottle arranged and adapted to slide within said cage-like structure, substantially as described.

5. In a fire-extinguisher, the combination with a liquid-holding tank and a removable cap or cover therefor, of a cage-like structure comprisinga series of wires or rods secured to said cap or cover and extending within the tank to near the bottom thereof and connected with a bottom piece, one of said wires being cut away to form a side opening for the entrance of an acid-bottle, and a revolving door for said side opening, comprising rings surrounding said cage-like structure and connected by wires, oneof said wires being bent inwardly to extend substantially in line with the cut-away wire of the cage-like structure to thereby center and confine the acid-bottle in place, substantially as described.

6. In a fire-extinguisher, the combination with a liquid-holding tank, of a cage-like structure adapted to support and confine an acid-bottle near the bottom of said tank, and a weighted sealing device for said bottle comprising an inverted-cup-like device arranged and adapted to slide within said cage-like structure,and an acid-proof packing arranged in the recess of said cup-like device and adapted to engage the mouth of the bottle, the wall of said cup-like device extendingbelow the mouth of said bottle, whereby when said acidbottle and its sealing device are submerged in the liquid in the tank, air will be confined within said sealing device about the mouth of the bottle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand this 9th day of January, A. D. 1901.

MARVIN E. WELLER.

Witnesses:

FRANK G. KELSEY, LESTER M. WELLER. 

